Wolves arrive for film work

By ALAn PERROTT

A pack of wolves understood to be in quarantine at a facility near Auckland are set to begin work on The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

Wolves and horses will be the only live animals used in the movie, now filming in Waitakere City under the direction of New Zealander Andrew Adamson.

All other "animals" to feature in the $170 million Disney production, including the reindeer and Aslan the Lion, will be computer-generated by Weta Workshop.

A spokesman for The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe said the pack of 10 cross-bred North American wolves would be used only on North Island sets.

The wolves, which will serve as the evil White Witch's minions in the C.S. Lewis tale, were expected to begin work next week, but that had been delayed and they were now expected to head into action later in the month.

Tight conditions, dictating how the pack will be penned, transported and handled while on set, have been put in place and the wolves will return home as soon as their scenes are completed.

The movie's producers have declined all requests to grant access to the wolves.

An earlier application by the producers to bring a team of 14 reindeer into New Zealand for three months was withdrawn after the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries raised concerns over the possibility of introducing Q fever, which is present among American reindeer.

The potentially deadly illness is a rickettsial infection which can be passed from animals to humans. It can last up to two weeks and result in serious lung or liver infections and, in extreme cases, death.